The candidates pictured above are part of some of the hottest contests in the Northern Panhandle, and just a sample of the dozens of locals who have filed to run in federal, state, county and municipal elections.

WHEELING – Candidate filings for the 2026 election year in West Virginia are now in for voters to decide, and the list shows there will be some exciting races on the ballot.

“There just seems to be energy this year, and I don’t know what to attribute that to,” said West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner. “I guess there are people who want to be in the process, and make a difference in their local community.

“I see all the activity coming in and out of our office. It just seems there is a lot of interest, and people are engaged. It’s a great thing – the competition of ideas – whether it is Republican versus Democrat or Republican versus Republican. The more ideas, the better.”

Warner reported that as of 9:56 a.m. Friday, West Virginia had seen 2,671 candidates file for office in 2026. That is exactly the same number of candidates that filed during the 2022 election year.

The difference was that in 2022, 874 Democrats were among the candidates. This year, that was down to 729 Democrats filing, he said. The number of Republican candidates, meanwhile, jumped from 1,274 to 1,348, according to Warner.

He noted that perhaps the biggest surprise was in the number of non-party or Independent candidates. In 2026, there were 521 candidates filing as non-partisan, while 592 did so this year.

The Race For U.S. Senate

A total of 11 candidates – five Democrats and six Republicans – have filed to run for the U.S. Senate seat presently held by U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia.

Capito is being challenged in the GOP primary by Alexander Gaaserud, Brian McKinney, Janet McNulty, David Purkey and Tom Willis. Democrats filing include Rachel Fetty Anderson, Thornton Cooper, Jeffrey V. Kessler, Rio Phillips and Zachary Shrewsbury.

“I don’t know what someone’s particular motivation is (to run for a specific office),” said State Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke. “The prospect of winning that seat – which is a statewide office – is expensive. And it is even more expensive to run against an incumbent who has a sizable campaign war chest.

“I think it would be an honor to be a U.S. Senator, so I can see why someone would want to seek that office. And I think somebody would be willing to face an uphill challenge against someone like Shelley Moore Capito for that honor.”

Delegate Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party, suggested the number of GOP filings might reflect growing resentment of Capito among party members.

“It might be because of the disappointment some folks have in our senior senator, who didn’t just vote for but was out cheerleading for a spending bill that is kicking West Virginians out of their health care,” Pushkin said. “It (health care) has become completely unaffordable and goes along with what is coming down the road with Medicaid. And she did this to offset a bill (that benefits) billionaires.

“It gives me hope for the future that we have five Democrats in the race.”

Warner noted that Capito is presently the fourth most powerful member in the U.S. Senate. He also wondered if any of the candidates could raise the money to defeat her.

“People recognize, frankly, how powerful U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito is, and they want to take that shot,” he continued. “Sen.Capito has effectively shown how much she can do for her state. They obviously want to hear their own ideas heard in the U.S. Senate.”

Races To Watch In 2026

There are also 11 candidates in the race for board of education seats in Hancock County, which has taken over financial operations of the district.

First-time candidate Quincy Wilson – a Weir High and West Virginia University football standout who returned last year to coach his alma mater’s Red Riders – has filed as a Democrat in the District 1 House of Delegates race against current House Majority Leader Patrick McGeehan, R-Hancock.

Ohio County, meanwhile, will see contests to elect new House of Delegate members in the 4th and 5th districts. Each race will see a GOP primary.

Democrat Joe Jividen has filed in the District 4 race, while the Republican ticket has Derek Ennis against Dolph Santorine. The winner will succeed Delegate Bill Flanigan, R-Ohio, who will instead run for Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals (Unexpired Term, Division 2) against sitting Justice Tom Ewing.

The District 5 race sees former West Virginia Republican Party Chair Elgine McArdle in a GOP primary against Beth Hinebaugh, a Wheeling day care center operator and business woman Beth Hinebaugh,and Riley Watkins, a 21-year-old fitness trainer. Public relations professional Karen Shuler Stakem has filed on the Democratic side, while Elizabeth Russell was a mailed-in filing added to the lists late Friday afternoon. Russell said Friday evening she has changed her mind and will be withdrawing from the race.

Delegate Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, who currently represents District 5, did not seek re-election but is running on the Democratic ballot for the District 1 West Virginia Senate seat. Republicans in the race include incumbent Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman, R-Ohio, and Joe Eddy, the retired former president/CEO of Eagle Manufacturing.

Candidates Choosing To File For Higher Office Over Non-Partisan Spots

Major trends this year see more women running for office, and more candidates filing for state and federal offices. Many non-partisan municipal races, as usual, are uncontested contests, but so are a number of partisan county races.

Ohio County Commission President Zach Abraham, a Republican, is running unopposed for re-election. In addition, there are just three candidates for three seats on the Ohio County Board of Education – incumbents David Croft and M. Andy Garber, and retired school service employee and union president Jerry Ames.

Interest in running for school board races varied by county throughout the Northern Panhandle.

School board and municipal races are presently non-partisan in West Virginia, Pushkin noted. He suggested the lack of candidate interest in these races might be that political parties don’t focus on recruiting candidates for non-partisan races.

“Our recruitment efforts are focused on the legislature and elsewhere,” Pushkin said. “We have seen a surge of Democrats coming forward this year, and that is because of an organized effort. We started with reorganizing and building our infrastructure at the county level. Then we work with county committees to recruit candidates.

“We’re looking for a quality of candidates, but also quantity. It’s important we give choices.”

Weld acknowledged it tough for parties to attract candidates for the lower non-partisan offices.

“Those races aren’t as visible as running statewide,” he said. “There may not be as much interest in those races. There is a smaller pool of candidates, and it is tough to find people.

“I encourage people to get involved with running for office at any level if they want to.”

As for getting voters to turn out and vote at the polls, Warner said that motivation is up to the candidates, the parties and political action groups. It is not the role of the Secretary of State’s Office, he added.

“We want to make sure we have as many people registered to vote who are eligible,” he said. “But turning people out is up to the candidates, parties and committees.

“People want to be a part of a winning team. They want to see a competition of ideas,” Warner added.